Board of Zoning Appeals

Regular Meeting Minutes of the Murfreesboro Board of Zoning Appeals November 19, 2019 – 1:00 P.M. Council Chambers MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT Davis Young, Chair Ken Halliburton, Vice-Chair Julie King Tim Tipps Misty Foy STAFF PRESENT Austin Cooper, Planner Roman Hankins, Assistant City Attorney Matthew Blomeley, Acting Planning Director Brenda Davis, Recording Assistant Chairman Young called the meeting to order at 1:00 P.M. The minutes from the October 23, 2019 regular meeting were approved as submitted. New Business Height Variance Request Application Z-19-032 – Nate Williams representing the City of Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department, requesting a 50’ variance from the maximum 20’ height for lighting fixtures on property in the Park (P) district located at 1233 Cherry Lane. Mr. Cooper reviewed the application and staff comments. The applicant was present to answer any questions. Mr. Blomeley added there was a similar lighting height request at the Miracle Field that the Board of Zoning Appeals approved in 2016. He said those fixtures aren’t the same height as the ones requested today. He just wanted to point out another example of height lighting that has been presented and approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals. Mr. Blomeley also said the Parks and Recreation Department came before the Board of Zoning Appeals before the new soccer fields were constructed because it was zoned RS- 15 and a Special Use Permit was required at the time to develop recreation fields in the BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 RS-15 zoning district. The property was recently rezoned to Park (P District) and passed the 2nd and final reading a couple of weeks ago. He said the recreational use, itself, is permitted “by right” so there is no need for it to come back to amend the special use permit for a new special use permit because the use is permitted “by right”, no longer by special use permit. Mr. Blomeley said they do need to come before the BZA in the request for a height variance for the light fixtures for the soccer fields and that is the reason they are before the BZA today. Ms. King asked if the variance was for the RS-15 zone or is the variance under the Park Zone. She asked if this request, assuming the Park variance will be effective tomorrow or is this under a previous RS-15. Mr. Blomeley said any approval of this should be contingent upon the Park zoning district becoming effective, which will be tomorrow. Ms. King verified the 20-foot height limit is what is effective and currently “by right” in Park setting. Mr. Blomeley said that is currently what is “by right” in every zoning district. Ms. King verified that it doesn’t matter if it is a Park. Mr. Blomeley said the height of lighting fixtures are dictated by the height of structures on the properties. He said if there are structures that are 35-feet in height or less, the lighting fixtures have to be 20-feet in height or less. In the Park zoning district, there is no maximum building height for structures but there is a maximum building height for lighting fixtures. Because there are no structures on the property currently (they are proposing a small building for restrooms) that exceed 35-feet in height without a variance they can go no higher with their lighting fixture than 20-feet. Mr. Cooper said similar requests in the past was for Miracle Field as they have done the .5 light candle request. He said this request is just for height and there will be no exceeding .5 light candle at the property lines. Mr. Blomeley said it would be beneficial to the Board to hear from Mr. Williams and have him explain the new lighting technology they are planning on using. He also asked Mr. Williams to go over the reason why the fields are now being lit and the various changes that are occurring on Cherry Lane. Mr. Nate Williams with the City Parks and Recreation Department came to the podium and said this is an element to the renovations at the Siegal Soccer Complex with our partnership with Tennessee State Soccer Association. He said this is a key element in the development of this whole project. The first phase of this project is to light these 2 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 fields, and this is the number one that gives us the capacity to at these fields to be able to hold the types of practices and games we need when the other fields are under construction. He said it also helps them, as soccer grows, and we end up having more regional and national tournaments we can use these additional fields more and more. Mr. Williams said a key part of that lighting, the artificial turf, and the indoor practice facility are what we are working on and the lighting is the first step in the process. He said the technology we are going with is the LED lighting similar to what we have at the back part of Adam’s Tennis Complex which is pretty amazing. He said you can see where it zeros out on the photometric scale basically at the line of play and doesn’t exceed much more than directed down. Mr. Williams said they have seen this is a lot of facilities and it works really well, it is considerably more expensive, but they feel it is the best application for this situation. Mr. Tipps needed a little help with the orientation of the subject fields asking if this portion is a part of Siegal Park. Mr. Williams said it is not right next to Siegal Park as there is private property in between the subject fields and Siegal Park. He said there is no direct connection to Siegal Park from the subject fields. Mr. Tipps asked if it would be safe to say there is no commercial zoning around these fields but mostly residential. Mr. Williams agreed stating there is a lot of residential property in the area but mostly surrounded by the Water Department’s property. Mr. Tipps asked what kind of feedback he has received from the neighbors. Mr. Williams said he has had only one call asking if the City was adding six more fields. He clarified to the caller the City is not adding additional fields but only lighting the existing fields. Chairman Young asked if the fields at Siegal Park are currently lit with different technology. Mr. Williams agreed. Mr. Cooper showed the Google earth photo of the subject property and what is surrounding it. Mr. Blomeley said directly west of the property is the Jordan farm where the City sprays it’s repurified water and it fronts on Leanna Road. He said there are several houses to the north along Cherry Lane. Mr. Blomeley pointed out the long driveway that comes in 3 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 from Cherry Lane, goes back to the south of houses that front directly onto Cherry Lane. To the east of the subject property and to the south of the subject property is primarily undeveloped. Mr. Williams said as the Cherry Lane Project comes on board in the coming years what is around this area is going to change dramatically and what you will see in the coming years. Chairman Young opened the public hearing. Mr. Nick Mangrum at 3724 Leanna Road, directly behind the fields came to the podium. He spoke four or five years ago when they started to build the fields. When Mr. Lanny Goodwin was originally here, they talked about moving the fields from the front of the complex to the back of the complex. He said the City added landscaping to create somewhat of a buffer to help with sound and that kind of stuff. Mr. Mangrum said the residents were promised there would be no late night, evening, they were promised there would be no major use of the fields but just be used for overflow practice fields. He said that has turned into not the case. When he walks out his back door, he looks directly at the Siegal Soccer Complex lights. He said the lights finally cut off around 9:20 p.m. In the summer on the weekends, the lights are on until 10:00 most nights. Mr. Mangrum is not sure if the lights are set to go off at a certain time or if someone must go out and turn them off, but they are not turning off when they are supposed to. He said every Sunday, the whole day, there are 160 to 220 people that are playing soccer games. He said these are not practice fields like the residents were told they were going to be. Mr. Mangrum said he moved from Blackman to the Leanna / Sulpher Springs area to get away from what Blackman was becoming with the lights and craziness. He pointed out there is nothing commercial where they currently live. Up until a couple of years, Publix was the only commercial building in the area. He understands the area is slowly growing. A comparison was made to Miracle Field, but keep in mind Miracle Field is directly off a main 5-lane highway. When you buy near Miracle Field, you know Sports Com is already there. Where Mr. Mangrum lives, he is the only one and the youngest person in his community by 30+ years. He said it is an older community so a lot of people, unable to come here at 1:00 during the day because they are either working or retired and can’t get out. He spoke with several neighbors and said they are fine with the fields and have no issues with them, but they see no need for lights. He said if they are truly practice fields, are we talking adult practice fields or kids. What child needs to be practicing past dark. If it is only on Saturdays or Sundays, they are open to discussing that, but this is Monday nights, Wednesday nights, Tuesday nights. When there is a big tournament at the Siegal fields, it overflows into these fields. Mr. Mangrum said he and his neighbors came to the public hearing a few years back and said they were fine with the fields as long as this is how they are treated. He said it has gone way further than they said it was going to be. If none of the Board members live in the community, he recommended the Board members to come there at 8:00 or 9:00 at night and drive down Cherry Lane. He 4 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 said his complaint last time and still this time is the same. He said where Leanna Road and Cherry Lane intersect for six or seven houses there are two street lights. When they leave tournaments on the weekend at 9:00 p.m. + it is pitch black from Cherry Lane to Leanna Road, it is backed-up all the way to the complex. He said sometimes he can’t even get into his own driveway. It is pitch-black dark and there is no shoulder, they added a turning lane to get into the soccer complex but that late at night they are still leaving the soccer complex. Mr. Mangrum said it has become much more invasive to their residential area. He understands this is City property and they can’t do anything about it because the residents are in the county. He called his country representative the other day and was not aware of all the situation. He received the letter for this meeting Saturday morning. Unfortunately, he was in Kentucky, so he didn’t get it till Monday. He called Monday afternoon and tried to speak with the three or four people in charge with Parks and Recreation Department and told they were all away on a conference. He said no one talked to him. The secretary told him the people he needed to speak with were out of town and a lady that helped them was with them. Whether that is true or not, that is what he and his neighbors were told. Mr. Mangrum said the things that were so nice about Murfreesboro are beginning to be taken away. He said we have got to have more soccer fields as we are not big enough. He said these big tournaments sounds good, but the beauty of Murfreesboro is being tarnished because the back-up from the soccer tournaments every weekend. When they are on the weekend, that is fine, but it is not just the weekends. He asked what was going on last night at the Siegal fields, were there games going on, were there practices going on? Whatever it was, the lights did not cut off to well after dark. He wished he had a big bus and he would get all his neighbors but unfortunately, they are all 60+ and an older community. Chairman Young closed the public hearing. Chairman Young wanted to address Mr. Mangrum’s questions regarding the hours of operation, what to expect, with it being practice fields. Mr. Williams said this time of year it gets dark earlier and lights are required about 4:45 – 5:00 P.M. He said they usually have to turn the lights on even for practice at 4:30 P.M. The intended use of the fields has been to maximum their use as much as possible and there is a need for it. He said there are a lot of organizations using those fields. Mr. Williams said they are very much limited by time on use of the lights this time of the year. Mr. Tipps asked Mr. Williams to address Mr. Mangrum’s comments. Mr. Williams asked what specific comments Mr. Tipps was speaking of. Mr. Tipps asked about what Mr. Mangrum was promised way back when. 5 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 Mr. Williams said he can’t answer to that and is not aware of anything in documentation. Ms. King asked if we have the minutes from the Special Use Permit. Mr. Blomeley said in the 2016 application no lighting was proposed. The Staff Comments mentioned, by Mr. Anthony, that if they wish to have lighting, they would need to come back and amend their Special Use Permit. Since it has been approved for Park Zoning the amendment for the Special Use Permit would be required so it can be lit, by right, it is just the matter of what’s the height of the lighting fixtures that would be allowed. Ms. King asked Mr. Blomeley if he was recommending that the Board should not take into consideration the comments and proposal made by the City regarding this property for a Special Use Permit due to the rezoning. Mr. Blomeley said he can’t speak to exactly what was said. All he knows is that the application said no lighting was proposed with that Special Use Permit. He does not know what was said outside of that. Ms. King asked if those minutes are accessible to the Board Members if they chose to delay this proposal until time, they can consider those minutes and the comments of the City and their application at that time. Mr. Blomeley said yes. Ms. King asked if he would be able to get that information at a later date. Mr. Blomeley said yes and thinks we have a copy of the minutes with us today. Mr. Tipps asked Mr. Williams how many fields are currently at Siegal Park. Mr. Williams said there are 21 fields. Mr. Tipps asked how many of the 21 fields are lit. Mr. Williams said all but two. Mr. Thomas Laird, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation came to the podium and said there are 21 fields total. He said they recently lit the additional fields at Siegal, so they have 13 fields lit there. He said there are two fields with the TVA right-of-way so they are unable to install poles since TVA will not give up those rights. He said there are six fields at the Jordan Farm. Mr. Laird said he was involved in the approval for the 6 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 Jordan project when it first started. From his recollection and involvement, the City was always planning to install lights. It was always the hope to light those fields. At that time there was a desperate need for practice locations. If they had lights on during the week, it is obvious we have a lot of usage. Mr. Laird said they try to make sure the lights at Siegal are off by 9:00 p.m. He said soccer clubs push that sometimes as they end their practice at so for safety reasons and it is usually 9:15 p.m. to 9:20 p.m. when those lights go off. On weekends it does go a little bit longer. He said they desperately need these fields for practices but without lights we have found the City is spending a significant amount of money on practice fields and we’re getting very limited usage with the daylight. Ms. Foy asked how often the soccer fields at the Jordan Farms are utilized during the week. Mr. Laird said the fields are being used daily, seven days a week. Chairman Young asked if the other soccer fields on this property are lighted according to the photometric lighting plan and in place. Mr. Blomeley verified Mr. Young was referring to the existing Siegal Soccer Park. Chairman Young said the fields that are there now and already lit. Mr. Blomeley said he didn’t know when those lights were put up and if they were put up before our lighting standards went into place. Chairman Young verified if the applicants wanted to install lighting 20-feet in height, they can, “by right”, install them. Mr. Blomeley said yes. Chairman Young added they would have to meet the photometric lighting plan at the boundaries. Mr. Blomeley agreed and said they would have to meet all the current lighting standards and the lighting fixtures could exceed no more than 20-feet in height. He referred to what Ms. King mentioned previously stating the minutes form the 2016 meeting are not in the file so he can’t speak to what was said at the meeting but read what was in Mr. Anthony’s staff comments and what was in their application. In the Parks Departments application which was put together by Lose and Associates states that n response to whether there is lighting proposed it says: No lighting is proposed for the sight. 7 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 In Mr. Anthony’s staff comments, he says: No lighting is shown on the site plan. Should the applicant wish to install lighting at a later time, an amendment to the Special Use Permit will be necessary. Additionally, should any proposed lighting exceed 20-feet in height, a height variance request will be necessary. Chairman Young asked if the requested light for this application is better or worse than what they can have “by right”. Mr. Williams said this light is tremendously better and designed to have a minimum impact as it just lights up the field of play. Mr. Cooper said the applicants brought the height variance request for the Siegal Soccer field lights to the BZA in 2016 and was approved. He said they also had a foot candle variance as well so that is whey those lights are a little brighter than allowable standards. Chairman Young verified the Board allowed lighting over what was “by right” allowed. Mr. Cooper said yes. Ms. King said the Board has been giving a lot of applicant’s questions about whether their variance request is self-created. She said the Board has denied many residential applications recently due to a variance being self-created. She needs to understand either better the definition of what is self-created or understand better why this isn’t something that is self-created by Murfreesboro. She said in the past the Board has approved these variances in other parks but when she looks at this and she thinks about the history of this property it is hard for her to understand how this is not self-created issue. Mr. Tipps said he agreed with Ms. King. Mr. Williams said they have to bring this forward for any athletic fields and is a service they provide to the community. Ms. King said the City decided to put an athletic field at this location. She said it may be a legal question as to what is considered to be self-created. She wanted to know how the Board determines what is or is not self-created without being fair to the residents. Mr. Hankins said he thinks Mr. Ives has gone over self-created issues in the past but the steps for a variance are listed in the Zoning Ordinance. He said it is a 3-part process: 1) the practical difficulty; 2) unusual characteristics of the property; and 3) not self-created. 8 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 He said it is important to note that the practical difficulties and unusual characteristics are what contribute to what is in subsection C is being the condition of the property. Mr. Hankins said he understood Ms. Kings concern and thinks you can take that argument to a logical extreme and say that anytime anyone wants to do anything with their property they have a self-created issue because they want to change what was there previously. He doesn’t think that is what is encapsulated in the variance Ordinance here. He said you have to look at first subsection A, the narrowness, shallowness or shape topography and condition of the land and then you look at the unusual characteristics of the property and then you look at whether or not those two things (difficulties and unusual characteristics) create something that is then worthy of a variance, not just that the property owner wants to do something. Otherwise, every variance could be rejected because they are asking to do it all on their own. Mr. Cooper passed out the applicant’s response to each of those three criteria. Ms. King asked if what Mr. Cooper passed out was a change from what was mailed out with the agenda package. Mr. Blomeley said it is an addendum. Ms. Foy asked Mr. Williams what he was referring to when he mentioned something about construction at the Siegal Fields and that was the reason for lighting. Mr. Williams said they needed an increase in capacity, not just due to construction as they are not looking to invest a million dollars in lighting just to supplement when some of the fields are closed down. He said this is part of a larger project because Murfreesboro has become a destination for soccer development. He said it is not just for the construction, it is just increased capacity. What they get in benefit also is that during the construction and they have at least six fields shut down we will still be able to increase the capacity and hopefully do our best in meeting the needs of all the users of the park as it currently stands. He said the lights aren’t just for construction and capacity, it is for partnership Murfreesboro has with Tennessee State Soccer Association and commitment we have made to host the larger events. Chairman Young said as this project moves forward and starts to affect the few homes that are there, what tools do we need to consider trying to help the residents that are there. He said if the Board denies this application you could put a different type of lights there that may not be the most efficient of what you want. It sounds like it is something the City would like the Board to move that way. He can see this project needed but there is a concern for the people that live there. He said it is a tough spot and makes them think what is reasonable and rational to consider and help the people that live close to it. He is not sure that what buffering was done around there is not enough 9 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 to handle some issues that may come up of some lights spilling over. Chairman Young said that is what is giving the Board pause. Mr. Tipps asked if there was previously a conversation regarding buffers between these fields and the surrounding neighbors. Ms. King said she is having a hard time without having the minutes in front of her for reference. She remembers some of the conversations, but not clearly. She doesn’t feel comfortable making a decision without the minutes from the 2016 meeting regarding the subject property. Mr. Blomeley said the minutes can be provided if that is what the Board wishes. Ms. King said if the Board has to decide these things for homeowners and if Parks need to be considered differently by out City so they can make these kinds of changes without having to ask for a variance then that is something our Commissions and Planning Department needs to be considering rather than this being something we have to do “by right”. She felt like the Parks have “the right” to these lamps when we’re having to make this decision. She said if we have to make it for homeowners, we have to make the same kind of decision for the City. Mr. Blomeley said this is one of those situations where our Ordinance was not really written for these kinds of fixtures. He said it was written for the 20-foot height limit and the 30-foot height limit for sites that have built things greater than 35-feet. He said it is written more for parking lot lightings or The Avenue or Wal-Mart or for a strip center. He said it doesn’t really contemplate this kind of lighting. Mr. Blomeley said he agreed that the two remedies are to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance or to amend the ordinance to incorporate standards for these kind of light fixtures. At this point, our Parks and Recreation Department has chosen to apply for a variance. Should that request be denied, the next logical step would be for us to make an ordinance amendment, so we do not have to be in this position every time we have recreational fields. Mr. Tipps verified the property is currently zoned RS-15. Mr. Blomeley said yes, until tomorrow. Mr. Tipps verified it went through Planning Commission. Mr. Blomeley said it went through Planning Commission and City Council. Mr. Tipps asked, at that time how many people in the neighborhood were here at those meetings. 10 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 Mr. Blomeley said it was his recollection that no one spoke at the public hearings at the Planning Commission or City Council. Mr. Tipps verified that no one spoke against it. Mr. Blomeley said that is his recognition. Mr. Halliburton spoke for the Planning Commission and he does not recall a comment from the public, but he could be wrong. Mr. Tipps said even still under the Park zoning, the maximum height is 20-foot. So, if it was RS-15, it would be a maximum height of 20-foot. If it was Park, it makes no difference in that regard. Mr. Blomeley said that is correct. Mr. Tipps said it is just respect to the lack of traffic and other activities that go on in a Residential Zone versus a Park Zone or Commercial Zone. Mr. Blomeley said if it remains zoning RS-15, it would require an amendment to the Special Use Permit and a height variance and now it only requires a height variance provided that it does go into effect tomorrow, as expected. Chairman Young said really what the Board is tasks with is assuming it does change to Park, are we willing to make them stay with the 20-foot pole or allow a 50-foot pole. He verified with foot candle light to the property line would have to be the same. If we’re trying to simplify it and help the residents that may be affected by the fields, but it is kind of outside of this application. Mr. Williams said 20-foot poles just wouldn’t be an option stating it would increase the amount of light that it would take adding you would have to distribute it wider. He said just for safety concerns in their regulations they comply with to keep kids safe from the fields, this is the only type of light we could light this field with. Mr. Tipps asked where the lights would be situated with respect to Mr. Mangrum’s property. Mr. Cooper pulled up a photo of the field and Mr. Williams pointed out the location of the proposed lighting in relation to Mr. Mangrum’s property. Mr. Mangrum came back to the podium and pointed out the location of his property. 11 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 Mr. Tipps said the lights would be a pretty good distance away from Mr. Mangrum’s property. He verified the fields that will be lighted are located south and east of the access drive is located. Mr. Blomeley said yes. Mr. Tipps asked about the area around the fields. Mr. Cooper said that area is part of the water resource department. Mr. Blomeley said the houses that are in closest proximity to the fields are north along Cherry Lane. Chairman Young asked if buffers were required when these fields were installed. Mr. Blomeley said there were buffers required along certain property lines and thought they were Type-D buffers. He said there was an amendment to the Special Use Permit that was approved in 2017 because there was a wet area where there was a long stretch of the property line where buffer could not be planted. Mr. Tipps and Ms. King said they both remember about the buffer. Mr. Williams said there is a berm and buffer around the whole property. Mr. Halliburton said regardless of how we vote on this, he said it is inherent that anytime from a Planning Commissioner or City Council that we rezone something that is Park, you are going to have to have lights in all likelihood. He said it only makes since that we, as a Planning Commission change the Ordinance to such that ya’ll are not having to go through this and the fact that all residents will know that if something is rezoned to Park you are going to have lights and in all likelihood they are going to be 70-feet tall until some other technology changes that they may or may not have to be that tall but today that is what they need to be. He thinks that is the best way to handle it going forward but what they do with this application is different. Mr. Mangrum came back to the podium and said the issue with him, and the neighbors was the beginning of this conversation, it was going to be this and once they foot got in the door it back this and now in a year or two, they are going to come back with buildings and bathrooms. He said when the practice fields were first mentioned to them, there was a big meeting at the Siegal Soccer Complex. There were visual drawings and they knew what they were going to get. He said the practice fields are there and now they are looking at getting lights. Once they get the lights, more people will be there, and they will then want bathrooms. He feels like everything is being piece-milled instead of having a plan that everyone can feel comfortable with and understand the 12 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 impact of traffic, the community, the street lights, etc. because unless you are approving bathrooms now, they are going to be asking for bathrooms or buildings for concessions in a year. He said the current complex from the main road is a beautiful complex and they love it. It was done at one time and done the right way. Again, he feels like this project is being piece-milled. Mr. Mangrum said when it was mentioned earlier that no one was present for the previous meetings, he knew nothing about that meeting. When he called, the office said it had already been rezoned. He said none of his neighbors or himself knew that meeting took place. He said if we are going to do it, do it right and make it look nice. He said don’t just piece-mill it. Mr. Blomeley said they just reviewed a site plan for a 1,100-square foot building for a bathroom building on this property as well. Chairman Young asked if that required any action from the Board of Zoning Appeals. Mr. Blomeley said it does not require any action from the Board of Zoning Appeals. Ms. King verified because it is under Park zoning, that is something that can happen now. Mr. Blomeley said correct. Mr. Cooper asked if it would be appropriate to show the lighting fixtures used on other fields. Mr. Blomeley agreed if that would be helpful to the Board. Chairman Young asked if the lights at other fields are older technology with overflow at the property lines. Mr. Blomeley said there was a variance for the existing Siegal Soccer Park exceeding ½- foot candlelight at the property line. He said that is not part of this current request for the sixth soccer field. The light spill-over would be required to be the ½-foot candle light at the property line. Mr. Williams said he thinks Mr. Mangrum is seeing the top fields that don’t have the LED technology. He said they are looking at every chance they get to install the LED technology. He said it is much more beneficial even though it costs more and is more efficient. Mr. Williams said they will be transferring all their lighting to this LED technology. Mr. Tipps said it is a noticeable difference at Adams Tennis Center having those types of lights as they are not as intrusive. 13 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 Mr. Halliburton said coming into this he would have thought they needed 70-foot lights because it is a soccer field. He was also thinking about one of the applications where the BZA denied a request for someone building a house downtown because their building footprint was taking up too much of the green area space of that lot. He said the Board felt like that was self-created and they denied the request. Mr. Halliburton said this comes down to whether the Board feels like this is self-created or not. He said it is an opinion and it is inherent. He suggested to go back read the minutes to see what was said and what was not said. He said it is still going to boil down to if this was self- created or not. He said it is hard to do one thing and say another when the Board has dealt with whether we feel like this is self-created or not. Mr. Halliburton said he understands it from the whole wholesale of the City this is what is best for Parks and Rec. He thinks that no matter what happens here, they need to concentrate on changing the Ordinance. He was not ready to make a motion one way or the other at this point. He asked to hear from other Board Members to see what their opinion is. Ms. Foy echoed what Mr. Halliburton said adding if something happened at Siegal fields like a tornado or something and we needed this field to have some bleed-over. Just to have this field because we have become a soccer destination, she still feels is very self- created. She said that is where she is landing to and agrees with Ms. King’s and Mr. Halliburton’s comments. Chairman Young said in a community growing like ours with the soccer experience it is trying to figure out how can these two entities that are growing co-exist, the soccer plus the people that live in the area. There may be more growth out to these areas. He said if you take just this piece of the height variance with the technology of light spill-over with a negligible impact with a taller pole there as far as the effect of light compared to the neighbors can be managed and reasonable. He said the Board Members are struggling with all these people coming in and out and going until 9:00 at night and that makes you scratch you head and squirm a little bit. He said it is a tricky one for sure. He was unsure what this type of lighting would bring to this site later and affect the residents around it. He wasn’t sure a buffer would be enough to fix the problem. Mr. Halliburton said just looking at what was given to us, Parks and Rec or the City stance is that because it is inherent you would have to use a 70-foot pole it is not self- created. Mr. Williams said the notion it is self-made would say they couldn’t put lights on any fields because by that definition if you go with that thought process it would be self- made, and we would not be able to light any fields moving forward. He said that is just not something they can do. He said they can’t operate and properly service the residents of Murfreesboro the way they need to without do lighting to fields. 14 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 Mr. Halliburton said it goes back to changing the Ordinance. He asked how quick that could be done. Mr. Blomeley said roughly 4 – 5 months. Mr. Halliburton asked how 4 – 5 months would affect Mr. Williams. Mr. Williams said tremendously. He said this is the first step for them in this process and because of the nature of what they will be losing as they can’t get into means and methods with their contractor too much and they haven’t finalized a contract with them. Mr. Williams said they requested they consider shutting down 4 or 5 fields at a time, but they might have the ability to have to shut down the whole park then they would not be able to serve the residents especially based on construction. He said that is why this is Phase 1a and Phase 1b would be the field and Phase 1c is the indoor facility that goes in side-by-side. Mr. Tipps asked if this is because of the partnership with the State. Mr. Williams said the City won the bid with the Tennessee State Soccer Association (TSSA) moving their headquarters to Murfreesboro. It is a huge asset for our community, residents and visitors here. Mr. Tipps asked if the headquarters was originally scheduled to go in an area of west Murfreesboro close to I-840. Mr. Williams said they looked at a lot of options and never had a plan to go with anything specifically. He said the City worked close with the Soccer Association to show them what they could do with this specific facility. He said they didn’t think it would be wise use of taxpayer money to build 16 fields and add another piece of property when we can enhance what we have. He said this is the enhancement we need to be able to serve, not just TSSA but also our community that is growing. Mr. Williams said we have fields that we need to improve, and this is a much-needed improvement to the complex. TSSA aside, the improvements need to happen. That is just another reason why the improvements are needed. We won that competition and are excited to have them as partners, but this is something that we need to move forward with this first step before they can move forward with anything else. Mr. Williams said their desires are to break ground the first week of January on the toe fields. Mr. Tipps asked unless someone makes a motion the application dies for lack of any action. Chairman Young agreed that would be the case. 15 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 Mr. Tipps said someone could move to defer, as well. Mr. Halliburton said he would like to do whatever they could to work this out. Instead of having it “no motion” where it fails, he made a motion to defer and we, as a group, get a better understanding of how this is not “self-created” unless we hash this out that it is not going to change. Mr. Halliburton said he has always tried to make his decisions based upon what is the best for the whole community and not necessarily and how it would negatively impact, if that is the case one or two individuals associated with the whole community. He would like for us to somehow come to an agreement or that we could feel comfortable with of how we could move forward with this based upon some decisions we have made in the past. Mr. Halliburton said he would rather not kill it at this point because he knows there is quite a bit on the line here. Mr. Tipps said he concurred with Mr. Halliburton and what Ms. King said we can’t have a double standard between what applications that the City puts before this Board as opposed to what our taxpaying residents put before the Board. He feels like they need a little more understanding of this before we take any action. Mr. Tipps said he is very sensitive to what the property owner had to say, and he also understands a little bit that yes, the lighting is much higher, but this type of lighting is probably not as impactful as they are proposing as the standard that is in place now is. He didn’t know if Mr. Williams and Mr. Laird would agree with that statement. Mr. Williams asked if Mr. Tipps was referring to the lights being impactful. Mr. Tipps said yes, it looks like this type of lighting doesn’t bleed over. Mr. Williams said that is why they are going with this type of technology and putting this request in from on the BZA. That is why they are requesting to spend about 25% more and help those that might be affected the best we can. He said there is no bleed over with these lights. If you were looking from the Mr. Mangrum’s back yard and you could see the fields, you are not going to see the change in light after these fields are going to come in. You are still going to see the glow from the top fields that were done in non-LED technology, but it is hard to see from a far, far away it doesn’t look like the lights are even on. He said if you look at the technology you would be pleased and understanding that it is not very impactful to the surrounding area. Mr. Tipps said we will always have to be dealing with change and you’re going to see it. He said regardless of what happens here with the Recreation Department and the soccer field, it is going to continue and some of that we are just going to have to embrace or do something else. Mr. Williams reaffirmed the timeline on this project is significant to the whole project and the City’s commitment to TSSA to move their headquarters to Murfreesboro. 16 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 Mr. Halliburton said the only argument he could make at this point is that “by right” you would have to do it at 20-foot height whether it is RS-15 or whether it is Park. The stance argument whatever would be that it is inherent that you would have to have these poles at this height and because of that, it is not “self-created” and that is the only thought process that he could lean toward this along with what Mr. Tipps said that it would be negligible impact on people surrounding based upon the technology of the fixtures themselves. Mr. Williams said 20-foot poles is not a product that exists. He said that is not something you can light a soccer field with. He said there is just no option for that. He said this is the best option they have presented to the Board. Mr. Williams said this is the best application for this situation. Chairman Young said the City has provided a way to light these fields in the application here, it is just what comes with more activity to 9:00 at night with these fields is giving them heartburn. If the Board wishes to defer the application, the applicant needs to agree to that and need to make sure we are going to get the information we want. Ms. King asked if the defer was a motion. Mr. Halliburton said no, it was not a motion. Chairman Young said he is in favor of the application reluctantly, given the reasons for the people around but he understands the other Board Members struggling and trying to help these two entities exist – the residents of the area, the Soccer Association and the benefit to the community. Mr. Williams said they might be able to work on, in conjunction, a policy with the lighting times. He said there are tournaments and things that happen, and we would have to understand that it can’t be cut and dry all the time. That is something that Mr. Laird and his staff can look at, developing a policy that could hone in. Mr. Laird asked the Board to keep in mind the Soccer Club does a fantastic job of balancing the users. He said most of your little kids are practicing right after school. These folks that are playing at 8:00 – 9:00 at night are older teenagers and adults which are more on a competitive side. These parents are paying a large amount of money for these kids to have soccer careers and apply for all the benefits competitive soccer can have. Mr. Blomeley asked Mr. Laird what he envisions would be the latest time that you would need the fields lit would be. 17 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 Mr. Laird said his staff tries to have a set policy to where they have all practicing games must be over with by 9:00 P.M. with the exception of major tournaments. Even when major tournaments come in, we try to draw that line at 10:00 P.M. He said unless they get unusual circumstances, delays during the day, they try to hold firm on those times. He said it is a balancing act because soccer clubs will be there as long as they possibly can and when we say 9:00 P.M., for safety reasons, it is probably 9:15 P.M. or 9:20 P.M. for everybody to exit the park before they actually turn the lights off, so people aren’t leaving in the dark. Mr. Laird said a majority of these are older kids and adults that play as they have a very vibrant soccer community from adults down. Mr. Tipps said he doesn’t really think that is the issue. He really thinks this is more of a quiet time to the neighbors. He thinks this would be better in an industrial, commercial, or retail zone versus around several neighbors. That is where there should be a hard-fast rule on that. It still doesn’t take care of the whole problem. Mr. Laird said when Siegal Park was built and the agreement they made with the neighborhood, they would use 9:00 P.M. and they try to really adhere to that policy, and they try to stay with that. He said that has been 14 years ago. Mr. Tipps asked if the BZA has any authority to refer something back to Planning or refer it to City Council with respect to these very apparent challenges that it has. Mr. Williams and Mr. Laird stated their comments very well about the necessity of 70-foot versus 20-foot. With the challenge they have is that something sent back with the recommendation from this Board to one of those to adjust the park zoning. Mr. Blomeley said, as Acting Director, we hear the Board loud and clear. He said looking back at how many times we’ve had to have this issue in front of you it would be perfectly appropriate for us to bring up to the Planning Commission to discuss whether or not they wish to have the Ordinance amended. He thinks our Planning Commission with a representative on the Board of Zoning Appeals has indicated his desire to have the Ordinance amended so we aren’t confronted with this issue in the future. Mr. Halliburton made a motion to approve your request for a 50-foot variance from Section 18(G)(4) of the City of Murfreesboro Zoning Ordinance, which prohibits lighting fixtures from exceeding 20-feet in height in non-residential developments with structures 35-feet or less in height. The approval was contingent on rezoning going into effect on 11/22/19. The motion was seconded by Mr. Tipps. Mr. Tipps asked what remedies there are to stop it from going to Park zoning, at this point since there is only one more day. He asked if someone could file an injunction to stop it. 18 BZA Minutes Regular Meeting November 21, 2019 Ms. Joy said yes. Mr. Tipps asked if it were inherent, we heard from the experts here that Parks needs less restrictive lighting standards saying do we need a separate motion or recommendation that the Planning Commission and City Council do what is necessary to deal with that issue in Park areas. Mr. Blomeley said a separate motion is not needed as we hear you and we’ll begin work on that. The motion passed with a 4 in favor and 1 against. Ms. King voted against the application. Staff Reports and Other Business Mr. Blomeley said if you have not got your continuing education hours, please remember to do so before December 31, 2019. The meeting adjourned at 2:15 P.M. _____________________________ _______________________________ CHAIRMAN SECRETARY 19